Once Upon a Time
by Rose Starre
Summary: The WWE Superstars suddenly find themselves trapped in a diabolical book of classic fairy tales. Their entry into this book is shrouded in mystery, as it had also swallowed up some of their memories. Will they be able to recover their memories and escape?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own the WWE Superstars. However, the fairy tale characters are in the public domain (I'm pretty sure), so I can use them just fine. (P.S. I am aware the summary sucks, and I am sorry about it.)**

The scent of sugar hung heavily in the air. Yet, at the same time, the sweet serenade of birdsong surrounded the slowly awakening group of people who lay scattered on the ground. One of them sluggishly raised himself up on his hands and knees. Pressing one hand against his head, he looked around, taking in the trees and the stirring bodies of his unknown companions. He crawled over to the nearest one and prodded his shoulder. "Hey," he whispered. "Do you know where we are?"

"No," the other man groaned, wincing as he tried to blink the bleariness out of his eyes. "Who are you?"

"Uh… Dean, I'm pretty sure," the first man replied after a moment of thought. He squinted suddenly at the stranger lying in front of him. "Hang on, do I know you?" he questioned.

"Doubt it," the second man retorted, pulling himself into a seated position. "My, uh… My name's Seth."

"Huh," Dean mumbled, sitting back on his heels. "I coulda sworn I'd seen you somewhere before."

Several minutes later, the last of the scattered people had struggled to their feet. One man, named Hunter, took charge. "Everybody, listen up!" he shouted over the confused chatter. "First of all, we need to figure out where we are. Does anybody have any ideas?"

"Well, we're in a forest," Sami offered.

"Thanks, Captain Obvious!" Enzo chirped, looking fairly pleased with his quip.

"I think we should just take a look around," Seth suggested. "That might get us results."

"Yeah, that's probably not a bad plan," Dean agreed, crossing his arms and nodding.

"Then that's what we'll do," Hunter declared. "See if anybody can find any clues."

The group spread out, searching between the trees for a clue to where they were and why they were there. "Hey, d'ya think that house has anything to do with us?" Sasha asked, pointing out a house that appeared to have been built out of cookies.

"What does an oversized gingerbread house have to do with us?" Heath asked, furrowing his brow.

"Whoever lives inside has to know something, doofus," Sasha retorted, marching toward the front door. Upon reaching it, she knocked and waited for an answer.

"You kids aren't supposed to be here yet," a voice shouted from within. "You haven't lost your heads again, have you?" The door opened and the old woman on the other side gasped. "You aren't the children," she whispered.

"No, we're not," Hunter replied, stepping forward. "But, could you maybe tell us where we are?"

"You can't be here," the woman hissed, shooing them off her porch. "If he finds out…" she mumbled, glancing up at the sky and wringing her hands.

"Who's 'he'?" Cass asked, narrowing his eyes at the woman.

"The Editor!" the woman spat, her eyes wide. "If the story strays too far off course, he'll revise the entire thing. The whole process is rather unpleasant."

"Why?" Bayley questioned, glancing around nervously.

"The whole world collapses in on itself," the woman explained. "The... The pain… And the darkness…" Her words abruptly dissolved into tears.

"Great," Hunter muttered. He snapped his fingers to get the woman's attention. "Hey, could you tell us how to get out of here?" he demanded.

"You… You must finish the story," the woman sniffed. She gestured toward the open front door. "Come," she ordered, walking back toward the house. "I'll just allow you to finish it, just to appease the Editor…"

"Hold on, I think I know this story," Alexa noted to Charlotte. "Don't those kids push the old lady into an oven or something?"

"Geez," Charlotte mumbled, nodding. "I think you're right…"

"Oh boy…" Alexa sighed.

The group piled into the house as well as they could. "Now please," the woman begged. "All you have to do is push me into here." She opened the oven door and gestured inside it.

"That's an oven," Sami pointed out, noting the intense warmth radiating out of the opening.

"I know that," the woman responded, nodding vigorously. "Please. You must push me inside."

"Uh, how about no?" Bayley protested. "You're gonna die!"

"The pain of the fire isn't as great as that of revision," the woman insisted. "Please! Before the Editor…!" Kevin abruptly shoved her, forcing her into the heat.

"Oh, my gosh," Bayley squealed, slapping a hand over her mouth. "You just killed her!"

"Somebody had to," Kevin snapped, crossing his arms. "So, what's the deal?"

"Look!" Chris shouted, pointing out the front door. "It looks different out there now."

"Does that mean we did it?" TJ asked, glancing over at Neville.

"It must," Neville replied, shrugging.

"Come on, everyone," Hunter called over his shoulder as he made his way outside. "Let's keep moving." The rest of the group obediently shuffled after him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I still do not own the Superstars.**

As the group marched out into the autumn chill they so suddenly found themselves in, they muttered amongst themselves, trying to piece together the fragments of memories they still held. "Hey," Sami called, jogging over to Kevin. "I think I know you from somewhere." He studied the other man's face for a second. "Sami? Sami Zayn? Is that ringing a bell?" he asked.

"Maybe," Kevin replied, shrugging. "But I'm also getting the feeling that you're annoying and I don't like you."

"Huh," Sami mumbled, rubbing the back of his head. "That's not like what I remember at all..."

Several feet away, Mojo was bounding from person to person, seeking his – as he put it – 'brother from another mother'. "Hey, hey, you seen my bro?" he shouted at Cass, looking rather excitedly hopeful.

"Um, no," Cass answered, shaking his head. "Sorry." He watched Mojo charge off into the crowd again, wondering vaguely if he knew somebody with such high energy levels.

Enzo, meanwhile, couldn't quite shake the feeling that he was missing something. He tapped the nearest person on the shoulder. "Hey, would you know if I'm missin' somethin'?" he questioned. "Or... Or somebody? Am I usually hangin' around someone?"

"Like I'd know?" Baron shot back, veering away so he wouldn't have to talk anymore.

"Oh... Well, thanks anyway," Enzo called after him, shoulders drooping.

"Would all of you shut up?" Hunter yelled over his shoulder. "I think I hear something."

The group obediently quieted down, listening intently for whatever their self-appointed leader had heard. Sure enough, a loud plodding of horse's hooves could be heard coming down the road toward them. Suddenly, a scraggly fellow with a large nose and disproportionately small head appeared astride an equally gaunt, tired looking horse. He halted upon spotting the group, eyes wide.

"Who are you?" Dean called from the depths of the crowd.

The man cleared his throat, shaking himself out of his startled stupor. "My name is Ichabod Crane," he declared in a nasally voice full of arrogance. He glanced down his nose at the group. "Who, then, are you?"

"We're gonna be your worst nightmare if you don't tell us where the hell we are," Hunter threatened, stepping forward and glaring at the newcomer.

"Well, no need to be rude," Ichabod grumbled. Clearing his throat again, he gestured to the forest around them. "This is Sleepy Hollow," he announced. "And I am its humble schoolmaster." He bowed as well as he could from atop his horse.

"Humble, my ass," Enzo mumbled to no one in particular.

"In fact, I am on my way to a prestigious party held by a mister Baltus Van Tassel," Ichabod continued, ignoring the previous comment. "Of course, his fair daughter is to be in attendance as well, as one might infer from my fine dress." He gestured to himself with a wide sweeping motion.

"Sure, whatever," Hunter responded. "Could you lead us there?"

"After how rude you were to me?" Ichabod exclaimed, seeming rather offended by the notion.

"Well, we ain't gonna be movin' outta your way," AJ piped up. "So, if you're gonna get there on time, you better be takin' us with you."

"You nasty bunch of mongrels," Ichabod hissed, spurring his horse onward despite his clear displeasure. "Out of my way, then. I'll take you there."

The road to Van Tassel's house was fairly uneventful. The group continued their previous mutterings, which their guide tried desperately to ignore. Finally, their destination came into view, a sizable crowd of people already gathered around it. Ichabod stopped just outside the gate. "Now, listen," he ordered in a low voice. "You must stay in the shadows. None of you must meddle in the affairs here, or there will be hell to pay." With that, he rode through the gates, waving joyously to his fellow partygoers.

"Ain't that some bullcrap," AJ muttered to himself, folding his arms and shaking his head.

"Isn't it?" Karl agreed, glaring through the gate at the merrymaking. "He didn't seem so worried about it until now."

"Old creep," Luke added. "How much you wanna bet that girl he was talking about is a lot younger than he is?"

AJ chuckled. "Yeah," he snorted. "He kinda seems like the type to try and get into his student's pants or somethin'."

"Today, class, we'll be studying the human anatomy," Karl said, mimicking Ichabod's haughty tone. "And I shall be your model."

"That's messed up, man," AJ laughed, shaking his head.

"Well, it's probably true," Karl insisted, shrugging.

As the sun set, the party inside the gates slowly wound down. The music eventually stopped and the men gathered at one end of the porch and began telling tales. The group, apart from those who had fallen asleep to combat their boredom, attempted to listen in. However, due to their distance from the storytellers, they could hardly make out a single word.

After another seemingly long while, Ichabod made his reappearance. He seemed pale and out-of-sorts, jumping slightly in his saddle at every sudden noise or movement. "What happened to you?" Dean sneered, walking alongside the feeble horse.

"Please do not ask me about such matters," Ichabod snapped, barely turning his head to acknowledge the other man.

"Not scared of the dark, are you?" Dean questioned further, smirking mischievously.

"No," Ichabod barked. "Not the dark itself..." he mumbled to himself.

The group lumbered onward for a time, mentally and physically exhausted. Their guide shuddered violently as he rode past a specific tree, watching it carefully. He breathed a sigh of relief as they left it behind. "What's that about?" Bo enquired.

"That's Major André's tree," Ichabod explained sharply. "The tales surrounding it are... gruesome." Suddenly, he delivered a series of kicks to his horse's side, causing the creature to bolt. The horse brushed against the fence at the side of the road, then veered off into the bushes growing on the other side. Its rider drove it onward toward the bridge they were just approaching, but it stopped abruptly, nearly sending Ichabod hurtling over its head.

"What was that for?" Hunter snapped, running up to the horse and rider.

Ichabod did not answer. Instead, he stared unblinkingly ahead at the bank of the river. Suddenly, he called, "Wh-who are you?"

A large, dark shape abruptly leapt forward from the shore and landed in the middle of the path, right in front of the frightened schoolmaster. Ichabod's horse, having seemingly gotten over its fright, started back on its way, with the frightening new arrival keeping pace.

The group allowed the strange pair to carry on without them. Suddenly, Ichabod gave a loud cry and urged his horse into a sprint. The second horseman gave chase and the two disappeared into the night.

"That settles that, I guess," Sasha stated. "Now what?"

"We follow them," Hunter stated matter-of-factly, marching forward. Collectively shrugging, the rest of the group also tramped across the bridge, only to find that the town they had been expecting to see wasn't there.


End file.
